British Lionhearts set for three home bouts at York Hall

December 24 - World Series of Boxing (WSB) franchise British Lionhearts have confirmed that the iconic York Hall will become their home for the remainder of season three of the competition.

The Lionhearts have won both of their two home fixtures so far with the first coming at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales last month and the second at Earl's Court in London earlier this month.

But the Lionhearts have now agreed a deal with York Hall to stage their remaining three bouts at the venue, where the British franchise will take on USA Knockouts on January 17, Astana Arlans Kazakhstan on February 7 and the Ukraine Otamans on March 11.

The agreement comes with Lionhearts lining up the Copper Box on Olympic Park in Stratford as their permanent home for next season.

"We are keen for the British Lionhearts to have a recognised home venue for the remainder of the season where we can look to build a fan base," said British Lionhearts general manager Matt Archibald.

"The agreement with York Hall and its owners GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited) enables us to do this and provides the team with a home for the rest of this season in an iconic boxing venue."

York Hall, which is located in the London district of Bethnal Green, is one of the United Kingdoms's best-known boxing venues and it has hosted bouts for many of Britain's greatest ever fighters including Lennox Lewis, Joe Calzaghe, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank.

Retired undisputed world heavyweight champion Lenox Lewis is one of the great British boxers to have fought at York Hall

The Lionhearts match at the venue against the USA Knockouts in January comes after the British franchise beat the American franchise 4-1 in California in their first bout of the season.

For the return bout, the Lionhearts have named a strong line up with London 2012 silver medallists Fred Evans and John Joe Nevin lining-up alongside reigning European champions Andrew Selby and Joe Ward.

Evans will face William Williams at middleweight while Ward will take on Marco Calic at light heavyweight.

London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Fred Evans has won his first two WSB bouts

They will be joined by Frazer Clarke, who will make his debut in the competition at heavyweight where he will be taking on either Sean Turner or Istvan Bernath of the USA Knockouts.

"It's been great to get back in the ring after the Olympics and I am really enjoying the competition," said Evans, who is unbeaten in his two WSB bouts so far.

"I think I am adapting well to the different demands of World Series Boxing and am looking forward to my next bout as I feel I am improving all the time in this format."

Prior to the York Hall date, the Lionhearts have an away fixture against Ukraine Otamans on January 11 where bantamweight Sean McGoldrick, lightweigh Sam Maxwell, middleweight Aston brown, light heavyweight, Babacar Kamara and heavyweight Uaine Fa will represent the British Lionhearts.

Tickets for all three British Lionhearts home fixtures can be purchased here.

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Fact of the day

Hulking Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren is best known to movie fans for his role in the film Rocky IV in 1985. For the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta he was selected by the United States Olympic Committee as the team leader of the American modern pentathlon team. Though he attended the Games and marched with the US delegation in the Opening Ceremony, his role was largely honorary. It was bestowed on Lundgren as a result of the time he spent training with the team in preparation for his role in the film Pentathlon, where he starred as an East German Olympic gold medalist on the run from an abusive coach played by David Soul. As a result of the time he spent with the team, Lundgren became a major supporter of the campaign to keep modern pentathlon on the Olympic programme.

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